Thomas Boyd/The OregonianReceiver Jeff Maehl and the Oregon Ducks are No. 1 in the polls for the first time in the program's history.

EUGENE – Oregon jumped to the top of the college football world Sunday when the Ducks were ranked first in the Associated Press, USA Today coaches, and Harris polls, and second behind unbeaten Oklahoma in the season’s first set of BCS standings.

Oregon (6-0 overall, 3-0 Pacific-10 Conference) never before had been the country’s No. 1-ranked team in any of the major polls.

The top two teams atop the BCS standings at the conclusion of the regular season play in the BCS National Championship game on Monday, Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

Kelly was interviewed following Oregon’s Sunday morning practice, which was after the AP and coaches polls went public, but before the BCS standings were theatrically unveiled live on ESPN Sunday night.

Even early in the day, it was clear the Ducks were in uncharted territory.

The Oregon coach pointed out the rankings and the BCS standings in mid-October are good for bragging rights and little else.

Kelly said he would be “really fired up, to honest with you, 49 days from today. That’s the only time it counts. On Dec. 5th, if you’re one or two, then it’s really relevant. Today it’s obviously an honor for these guys, but it’s (only) today.”

If the Ducks are still on top in December, Kelly said: “We’ll be jumping up and down. We’ll jump around and do all the stuff. Right now it doesn’t really affect anything.”

There is a lot of football to be played. The Ducks have six Pac-10 games ahead, starting with UCLA (3-3, 1-2) on Thursday at 6 p.m. in Autzen Stadium. They still have to play at USC, at Cal and at Oregon State. They meet Washington on Nov. 6 and Arizona on Nov. 26 in Autzen. There are no gimmes left.

The BCS standings are compiled with a mathematical formula that includes the coaches and Harris polls, and six computer programs.

The computers are a complicating factor. It’s hard to know what they will do if either Auburn or Louisiana State stays unbeaten in the rugged Southeastern Conference. Those two schools play each other this week. The winner is likely to get a big boost.

The computers must not be overly impressed with an Oregon nonconference schedule that included lopsided victories over New Mexico, Tennessee and Portland State.

The poll voters, though, must like Oregon’s 54.3-point scoring average. The Ducks aren’t just winning. They are obliterating the opposition. All six UO victories have been by double figures.

The top five in the AP and coaches polls were identical: Oregon, Boise State, Oklahoma, TCU and Auburn. The Harris poll had the same five teams, but ranked TCU third and Oklahoma fourth.

The top five in the BCS standings went like this: Oklahoma, Oregon, Boise State, Auburn and TCU.

Oregon never has been in the national championship game, although UO fans contend the Ducks were robbed in 2001. That year, the BCS title game matched Miami and a Nebraska team that had been blown out by Colorado in the regular-season finale.

The Cornhuskers lost to Miami in the Rose Bowl. Oregon, the Pacific-10 Conference champion, pounded Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks finished that season a consensus No. 2 in the polls.

This year, Oregon has moved into position to play at the high-stakes table. At least the poll voters think so.

“It’s relevant to some extent,” Kelly said. “One is better than 30.”

Oregon’s Sunday practice appeared to be business as usual. If there was any extra adrenaline flowing, it wasn’t obvious.

“We are in the driver’s seat, but none of that stuff really matters until December,” center Jordan Holmes said. “It’s something to tell your kids and grandkids. But we just have to focus on the task at hand. And that is UCLA.”

Kelly said he hasn’t called any team meetings or lectured his players about avoiding the distractions the national spotlight will bring. He doesn’t think he needs to point out that the No. 1-ranked team in each of the last two weeks has lost – first, Alabama, then Ohio State.

“They’re smart kids,” he said. “They can read the internet. They all watched football yesterday. They know what is going on. They understand what it is.”

If the fans have their chests puffed out, quarterback Nate Costa said the UO players don’t think that way.

“The coolest thing about being ranked No. 1 is that we haven’t reached our full potential,” Costa said. “That’s what is most exciting.”